Tory candidates for South Lanarkshire Council have declared Boris Johnson's breach of COVID rules to be "completely unacceptable" - but insist the Prime Minister should stay in his post.
Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie and the Chancellor Rishi Sunak have all been fined as part of the 'Partygate' scandal, regarding social gatherings held at Downing Street during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Further fines are believed to be possible for the Prime Minister as police look into around 12 gatherings that occured.
Opposition politicians and a small number of Tories have said the incident, and concerns over whether the Prime Minister misled Parliament when he denied knowledge of the events last year, should mean he stands down.
Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey demanded to know whether council candidates in South Lanarkshire were in favour of him staying or not, ahead of the local council elections on May 5.
Ann Le Blond, a Conservative candidate for the Cambuslang West seat, stated she shared the anger of locals about the Prime Minister's actions, but that he should stay in power to help the ongoing relief efforts for Ukraine.
Ms Le Blond told Lanarkshire Live : "The behaviour of the Prime Minister and Chancellor and others in Downing Street at the height of the pandemic was completely unacceptable.
"I share the anger among constituents across Lanarkshire. People made huge sacrifices and many are still grieving the loss of loved ones as a result of COVID.
"However, it is all too typical of the SNP that they are trying to deflect from their own record by trying to turn these local elections into a proxy vote on the Prime Minister.
"As hard as they try, people locally recognise that these elections are about day-to-day services. The SNP have decimated local authority budgets over the last 15 years with their constant cuts.
"Now is not the time to destabilise the UK Government by removing the Prime Minister at a time when the focus is on supporting the people of Ukraine."
Ms Haughey had earlier slammed the Prime Minister's behaviour.
She told us: "The excuses we’ve heard from Douglas Ross already that Boris Johnson should stay in post because of the war in Ukraine is shameful – using the horrendous invasion as a shield for his cowardness.
"It also doesn’t stand up to scrutiny - Prime Ministers have changed during the war in Afghanistan, Iraq War, Gulf War, Second World War, First World War, and many more.
"With the council election taking place next month, voters have a right to know whether local Tory candidates have a backbone or not. I have yet to hear any of them say publicly what their stance is.
"It’s time for them to tell Rutherglen and Cambuslang residents if they back him or call for him to be sacked."
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